Taking an easy stroll above the wide, blue ocean in beautiful La Jolla.
My day in La Jolla yesterday was so wonderful I had to do it again!
A second walk today has my computer bursting with photos. So I’d better share some!
I’m going to create two blog posts. This first one involves a walk down the short but breathtaking Coast Walk Trail, then down Coast Boulevard from the Cave Store to La Jolla Cove Beach. Where the ocean meets land here is one of the most amazing, magical places a person might ever visit. A few photos hardly do the experience justice.
Be forewarned, this post starts with great natural beauty, but ends with sudden ugliness. You’ll see why I became a bit angry during my otherwise glorious adventure.
The Historic Coast Walk Trail begins near Torrey Pines Road and ends at the Cave Store on Coast Boulevard.Dozens of kayakers were out on the water as I walked west down the trail enjoying magnificent views.Red kayaks bunched close together below, east of Goldfish Point.Rounding a corner, shops and restaurants on Coast Boulevard come into view.Wooden steps plunge down to a scenic view point atop amazing sandstone cliffs. In the narrow cove on the left is an entrance to a sea cave.Nature’s beauty takes many forms, including a golden flower.From the view point I look east along eroded cliffs toward La Jolla homes.Heading back up to the Coast Walk Trail, which ends nearby at the Cave Store.A man-made tunnel inside the Cave Store leads from the gift shop to the Sunny Jim Sea Cave.About to turn north, beginning down Coast Boulevard, toward La Jolla Cove.The amazing Coast Boulevard passes La Jolla Cove, Scripps Park, Children’s Pool and the La Jolla tide pools!A message on the sidewalk caught my eye. Your troubles will cease and fortune will smile upon you.It’s possible to see into this sea cave.The rocky cliffs along Coast Boulevard are the home of pelicans, sea gulls and cormorants.Long-beaked pelicans and black cormorants have a rest in the warm sun between diving and hunting for fish.The cliffs of La Jolla are made of unstable sandstone, which occasionally crumbles into the Pacific Ocean.A gorgeous view of La Jolla Cove on a perfect spring day.A lifeguard tower rises above La Jolla Cove Beach. To the right of the tower is Point La Jolla.Looking down at La Jolla Cove Beach from the north. Buildings along Coast Boulevard are surmounted by those on Prospect Street.City of San Diego sign provides a warning. Caution, do not approach seals or sea lions! Harassing these marine mammals is against the law.A lady climbs stairs up from the beach, past a lifeguard rescue board.Some benches allow people to enjoy the view. Scuba divers in the cove swim with the sea life.Several thoughtless, self-centered people almost stepped on a seal as they crowded in to get a photograph.Agitated sea lion on a rock angrily confronts pestering people who don’t seem to care.
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Looking down from the high viewing area at picturesque Bird Rock below.
Please enjoy some photographs!
Yesterday I took a long walk through La Jolla. Before leaving home, I checked the tide chart. My intention was to photograph the tide pools at beautiful Bird Rock. I’ve read you can actually walk out to this spectacular rock in the ocean at low tide. Unfortunately, as it turned out, yesterday the tide wasn’t low enough!
But I did get my fill of natural beauty. Will you please join me as I walk from La Jolla Boulevard a couple blocks down Bird Rock Avenue, and then down to the water?
Bench on La Jolla Boulevard sidewalk spells out Bird Rock with colorful tiles.This bench features sea shells. Let’s begin our walk down Bird Rock Avenue, a few steps away.Kid skateboards down hilly Bird Rock Avenue toward the small lookout point.Local guy is already here enjoying the beautiful view and ocean tranquility. Few tourists come here.Gazing north along the rocky shore. La Jolla Cove is on the other side of that distant jutting land.Looking down over the view point rail at rugged rocks at the edge of the shining Pacific Ocean.Here’s where we’re going to descend to the water.Heading down the short staircase to get a closer look at the beauty of Bird Rock.We quickly glance up at the viewing area, where we were a moment ago.Gazing south as we stand on large jagged boulders. Someone is walking along the base of the cliff.We carefully head a bit south, too. Watch your step! The tide is fairly low and we get close to the splashing water.These stones were made smooth and rounded by that great Earth-encompassing rock tumbler, the mighty ocean!Look out! A foamy wave is crashing in!Finally, we turn westward to look at Bird Rock. At a distance, the birds are just visible in this photo!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter.
Awesome street art on a chiropractic office near Cesar Chavez Pkwy in Barrio Logan.
I have some time off from work, so I’m able to do a little more weekday walking than usual. Yesterday I wandered through a gritty but fascinating neighborhood near downtown that’s a bit off the beaten track. A stretch of National Avenue runs through a narrow section of the city between Logan Heights and downtown San Diego, directly east of the rail and trolley yards; I walked from Imperial Avenue to Cesar E. Chavez Parkway, then back.
The area contains many car repair shops, welding shops, warehouses, and other small businesses which occupy modest, often decayed buildings. In a few places, groups of homeless had gathered. Small, neglected shanty-like houses are interspersed with elegant historic old homes and newer apartment buildings. Yet vibrant life was active everywhere. And everyone I met gave me a friendly greeting!
Cool mural on residential building features an eagle, cacti, palm trees.Quaint narrow house on National Avenue near downtown San Diego.Portion of colorful graffiti in a weedy space between buildings.This very cool mural caught my eye as I walked down the street. It’s on Logan Avenue, a couple blocks from National Avenue.Plaque on La Entrada project explains reconstructed Mission Revival facade.The Mission Revival facade on La Entrada apartments is an homage to the region’s history.Local vendor is selling tamales under a canopy by the sidewalk.Mother’s Nutritional Center helps local low-income women with young children.A soccer ball on utility box by a small local market known for their sub sandwiches.One word on this fantastic old wall says it all: Life.
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Visitors enjoying Explore Mission Trails Day head down Grinding Rock Trail.
About 60 miles of hiking trails through a wilderness environment can be found just 8 miles from downtown San Diego. Seriously!
This morning I enjoyed a very short walk (about a mile) at Mission Trails Regional Park. I went on the occasion of Explore Mission Trails Day, an annual event that showcases this amazing, enormous urban park.
The relatively easy hike was from the Visitor and Interpretive Center to some grinding rocks on the banks of the San Diego River, then back. Led by our guide, Linda, a small group learned what life was like for the ancient Kumeyaay people, who’ve lived in this dry, rugged area of Southern California for thousands of years, long before Europeans arrived. The Kumeyaay lived off the land. The very land where we walked.
We gathered at the kiosk near the parking lot for an easy morning nature walk.Hiking through common, aromatic Southern California sagebrush toward a distinctive mountain, South Fortuna.We pause under a coast live oak, which produces acorns and shade valued by the native Kumeyaay.Large nest created by a woodrat (also known as pack rat). The Kumeyaay would bang a nest with a stick and hope to capture a snake, to eat.We cross a small wooden footbridge and take in nature’s sights and smells on a beautiful day.These tiny pinkish white flowers are flat-top buckwheat. Their tiny seeds are edible. The blooms attract butterflies.It’s easy to forget you are in the San Diego city limits in this open wilderness.Water erosion visible in the gradually descending dirt trail. As the morning was overcast and cool, no snakes were out sunning.Yucca fibers were used by the Kumeyaay to make nets, sandles, baskets and other useful things.Linda, our tour guide, talks about the ancient history of this region and its indigenous peoples. The Kumeyaay moved about depending on the season and availability of resources.Dodder is an orange colored parasitic plant. According to Kumeyaay legend, a woman who failed to guard a camp against invaders ran away, and some of her hair snagged in the bushes!A patch of poison oak! Leaves of three, let it be!We approach the San Diego River, but first pass beneath a large arching tree. If you see a native tree in San Diego, there’s probably water nearby!Smooth boulders on a bank of the San Diego River in Mission Trails Regional Park.Family investigates the life-giving water. The Kumeyaay at times would follow the river all the way to the coast, where some witnessed the landing of explorer Cabrillo.Many mortar-like holes in the nearby boulders are where Kumeyaay ground acorns, seeds, roots, herbs and other edible resources found in this arid environment.Walking stick leans up near some Yucca fiber creations brought by our guide. The basket on the right was made with willow branches. Natural salicylic acid found in willows kept out insects!Starting back up toward the Visitor Center during a very cool hike in San Diego! If you go for a hike, bring water and sturdy shoes!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
The classic Spruce Street Suspension Bridge is located just west of First Avenue and crosses narrow Kate Sessions Canyon. It’s an amazing, breathtaking 375 feet long! Steel cables support a gently swaying passage through and above treetops, and a walk along its length feels like a small, romantic adventure. The bridge was designed by Edwin Capps, the city engineer who was also responsible for plans to dredge San Diego Bay, and who would go on to be elected mayor. (It was Capps who hired the rainmaker Charley Hatfield, the central character in one of San Diego’s most legendary tales! Perhaps I’ll blog about it one day…)
Built in 1912, the purpose of the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge was to provide easy access for those who lived to the west to trolley lines on Fourth and Fifth Avenue.
The Spruce Street steel cable suspension footbridge, engineered by Edwin Capps, was erected in 1912.Wouldn’t you like to walk out on this bridge?The swaying suspension bridge is a unique, historic structure just north of downtown San Diego.Lots of people love this hidden bridge. You feel like you’re crossing through a wilderness of treetops!Bicyclists enjoy a dirt trail 70 feet below.Boy sits thoughtfully on the Spruce Street Suspension Bridge in Bankers Hill.
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Several faces line the bottom of a downtown window.
Yesterday morning I walked south on Seventh Avenue through a thin slice of downtown San Diego. I began at the tippy top of Cortez Hill and ended near Petco Park. Looking about for random cool sights, just swinging my camera right or left, I took a few pics…
Classic figures in a frieze on a building at the corner of Seventh and C Street. The cool Computer Museum of America used to be here.View of the iconic America’s Finest City mural from a spot on Seventh Avenue.Happy reveler painted at the corner of Seventh and E Street.More cool street art on some boxes at Seventh and F Street.Fun utility box street art photographed during a morning walk through downtown San Diego.The images might be weathered, but the playful spirit remains strong.Gigantic eye stares out of one window at me as I continue to walk south down Seventh Avenue.The Clermont/Coast Hotel, built in 1887, is a Black Historic Site. During the days of racial segregation, is was one of the largest “colored” hotels in downtown San Diego.Seventh Avenue has turned into Tony Gwynn Drive. With the new Padres baseball season, brand new graphics have appeared on the sign behind Petco Park’s big videoboard.Poster inside Omni Hotel window looks forward to San Diego’s 2016 All-Star Game.Sweeping the front of Lucky’s Lunch Counter early one weekday morning.
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
A happy sun shines above beach and ocean on this unique bench, where anyone might sit and relax.
Liberty Station is a wonderful place to spend the day in Point Loma. Its beautiful promenade contains many small museums, art studios and cultural attractions. When you walk around the grounds of this brilliantly converted Naval Training Center, you’ll notice a number of artistic benches placed around the old barracks, military buildings and plazas. I recently took photos of many benches. Just for fun!
Photo of creative guy working near The Hot Spot walk-in arts and crafts studio at Barracks 14.One of several colorful benches inside Building 202, home to small museums and galleries.This wildly creative work of art is just too much fun!An outdoor bench welcomes visitors to history-rich San Diego attraction NTC Liberty Station.Looks to me like we’re supposed to sit here!Shops and restaurants around Liberty Station provide many treats. So does this seat!Cool scene of breaching whales decorates this bench found on the North Promenade. The artist is David Mandel.Another fun whale bench awaits people at Liberty Station with tired feet. Colorful ocean art by David Mandel.Check out this Yellow Brick Road to Emerald City bench, straight from The Wizard of Oz!Smiling, active people, playful dogs and a whole lot of heart!If music be the food of love, play on!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Photo of park construction from an upper level of downtown’s Horton Plaza shopping mall.
Today at sunrise it was already warm outside, so I began my walk extra early. Because it’s a simple thing to catch a trolley at any station downtown, I had plenty of time to get to work.
For no particular reason my legs pulled me past the Horton Plaza Park construction site. Work there appears to be full steam ahead!
Artwork on the construction fence right next to the Horton Plaza shopping mall shows how this enlarged city park will eventually appear. According to Todd Gloria, a San Diego City Councilmember, “When it is completed, it will be the new heart of our city, the central point, and a gathering place for San Diegans to come together to celebrate.”
Conceptual artwork on the construction site fence. This image shows a San Diego Comic-Con event taking place downtown at the future Horton Plaza Park.Zooming in, I spot several superheroes!Another bit of art on the temporary surrounding fence shows a Fourth of July celebration in the finished park.A good wide view of construction progress. This functional public space will be a major addition to downtown San Diego.The corner of a large plaza that will be used for concerts and special events.Early morning sunlight on the Balboa Theatre and a section of the Horton Plaza mall in the background.A fantastic area in downtown San Diego is about to become even more amazing!
UPDATE!
Here’s a pic I took in late June 2015…
Photo of Horton Plaza Park construction taken in late June 2015.
And another two months later…
Photo of Horton Plaza Park construction in late August 2015.
And another in early October…
Horton Plaza Park is making great progress by the beginning of October 2015.
And two more pics from mid-November…
Construction workers prepare the new, expanded Horton Plaza Park in downtown San Diego.Historic fountain in Horton Plaza Park being renovated in November 2015.
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Yarns dyed many different colors out on display in San Diego’s Old Town.
One more quick post from today’s stroll through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park. After going on the free walking tour, which I do every few years to jiggle my memory, I observed that a couple of unique exhibits were out on public display. One concerned yarn, the other twine. A “string” of coincidence too good not to blog about!
During the tour, our knowledgeable guide explained how red dye in the olden days was derived from a particular insect–the cochineal. The cochineal is a beetle that can be found on prickly pears, a cactus which grows abundantly in arid San Diego. While we watched, the guide plucked one from a prickly pear next to the Casa de Estudillo, then crushed it. His fingers turned bright purple from the beetle juice! (He explained the British Red Coats dyed their uniforms with cochineal, but Purple Coats didn’t sound quite so fierce.)
Tour guide ready to produce some reddish dye.
After the tour ended, two volunteers inside the Casa de Estudillo were demonstrating how yarn used to be made. To dye the fibers, both cochineal and indigo dye were commonly used. A spinning wheel served to demonstrate the hard work required to live comfortably before our more modern conveniences.
La Casa de Estudillo, an elegant adobe house built in 1827 by a wealthy Californio family that owned several large ranchos in Southern California.Volunteers in costume with baskets of color. They told me some yarns concerning San Diego’s complex, fascinating history.State Park volunteers describe life in early San Diego, when spinning wheels were common household objects.
Out in one corner of Old Town’s big central plaza, some friendly Mormons were demonstrating the making of twine. Like the native prickly pear, yucca plants have always been plentiful in San Diego’s desert-like environment. The tough fibers in the leaves, once extracted, are dried and then twisted using a simple mechanism to create primitive but very practical twine or rope.
Making twine involved twisting fibers found in native yucca plants.Mormon guy smiles as he exhibits rope-making in Old Town. The Mormon Battalion was one of many diverse participants in San Diego’s early history.
Someday I’ll probably blog about the amazing, hour-long Old Town walking tour. I need some more photos and many more notes before I undertake that, however!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Walking through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park we see a sign beside Seeley Stable Museum. Let’s go see the donkeys!Is this one of the donkeys? Nope. Visitors and kids from local schools can ride this docile wooden critter, because touching the live donkeys is not allowed.Look! We found some horned cattle corralled in a corner! Nope. Wrong again.California State Park Rangers ahead! I think something cool is up this way!It’s 30 year old donkey Don. This guy can be grumpy, I’m told. I saw some evidence of that!Over here we meet 28 year old Dulce, which in Spanish means sweet, or candy. She (I think it’s a she–I didn’t ask) is the friendlier donkey.But the rangers here seem the friendliest of all!
Visiting school kids, with the help of Don and Dulce, can learn what life was like (particularly for a donkey) in the very early days of San Diego.
Four things I learned during my brief visit:
Donkeys were a preferred draft and pack animal because of their spine, which pound for pound is much stronger than a horse. A donkey can pull half its weight.
Donkeys are closely related to the zebra.
Don and Dulce are rescue animals.
Old Town has fun surprises around every corner!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter.
Cool San Diego Sights! 